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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。2 v( L6 c0 z a, a+ J; \
7 m# d5 i7 D' F3 CFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.. Z# `9 v2 d+ P6 \- o) t
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Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.
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& `' {, h* a- Q7 Q* b& N( i6 l$ WTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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' G, t! p2 H8 s t"It's the toughest decision we have to make in our business life, and it's been a hard few days for us," Hunt said.% \) W" s" }: ~
) R" S6 z0 C, p' S1 S. c/ UIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.* l# \7 e; l! p% D
s' q% |: h/ s"That's the paradoxical thing. Even though things are changing, Fort McMurray (Alta.) is still growing, and we need more people up there," he said.
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"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."
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$ ?, Z! _' n9 y& ^* \( SThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.' k& [* @# ~7 z( Q
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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0 F' L$ {* V9 }7 eHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.2 {3 m! y6 h) V( k: |1 i' p
) b* W" T6 S; i- t$ S& DThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.0 \. v/ s1 \$ V% r& }3 f0 @
6 l* h) N, ~) q2 U4 J/ jThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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# c; z2 x/ L# I; r1 bMike Waites, CEO of Vancouver-based parent company Finning International Inc., recently lowered the 2008 earnings guidance due to a slowdown in some of its businesses in Western Canada and the United Kingdom.
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" s& o6 m; Y9 e3 ^: {Demand for new equipment will likely soften and some purchases may be deferred, but that will result in an increase in its parts and service business - Finning's most profitable business - he said.: P o# L) f9 q( z% q% ~- n
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Finning reported third-quarter net income of $64.8 million compared to $63.6 million for the same quarter last year. Revenues were a record $1.46 billion, compared to $1.33 billion a year before.
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( m- E: q$ k# ^! I4 W$ y, @9 I5 mIts order backlog has also grown to a new record of $2 billion, dominated by mining equipment, "and provides good revenue visibility for 2009 and into 2010," Waites said. |
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